Lest Darkness Fall
by WhoIsAtlas
Summary: [TP AU] “You asked me before, what do I want? I'll tell you: this kingdom, Princess. And everything in it. But now you've got a choice to make: will you surrender yourself, and your country, to our forces? Or will we be forced to spill more blood?


_**Lest Darkness Fall  
**_

by  
The Dream Master

Prologue: The Veil Descends

"By the pricking in my thumbs, someone wicked this way comes." - William Shakespeare

The sun's last brilliant, glowing of the day through the leaves of the ancient trees of the forest signified the on come of night. The rays of light poured through and hit the surface of a nearby river, causing it to sparkle pristinely to those lucky enough to observe it. Most of the animals of the forest had either retired for the night, but there were those that had come out, they thrived in these conditions; in cold and darkness. But what was perhaps most perplexing to them were two unfamiliar looking creatures that were sitting by the river's side, not saying a word, nor getting a drink or something to eat from the body of water. Rarely, if anything, in their worlds that was living sat perfectly still unless it had the idea of a hunt on its mind, so the other living things had given them a wide berth.

The creatures themselves were quite amusing to look at too; they were both gangly and awkwardly proportioned, with no natural defenses to speak of, nor of any protecting fur, feathers, or scales. But they weren't new to the area, in fact, these strange beings visited this spot nearly every day, so it wasn't much of a concern for the creatures of the forest; but better safe than sorry.

The two beings in question sat side by side to one another, neither saying a word, perhaps not having anything to say or they were simply taking in the simplistic beauty of the environment around them; or perhaps it was a combination of both of these factors. One of them was years older than the smaller figure, and wore more clothing, looking nearly suffocated under the number of garments it wore. Its hand rested on a shied while the other made quick, simple strokes on the blade that it had on its lap; water trickled off of the metal and onto the man's pants, but despite this, the motions continued.

The other figure sat hunched over, staring out into the currents and undertows of the tributaries that flowed into the larger body of water. He rarely blinked, and if he did, it was only for a few seconds before his stare began again. Although not as calloused as his senior, he was already hardened a tad by the world around him, grime and dirt clinging to his homemade clothes. He had never been one really for words, instead preferring to keep to himself, and only talk if spoken to.

The older man grunted, causing his younger companion to look over at him, with an eyebrow cocked, as if to say 'what do you want?' The old man continued his cleaning, as he spoke. "Good, I was wondering if you were paying attention at all, Link. One shouldn't become so engaged in the things that lay around them that their senses become so dull as to leave themselves open for an attack."

Link looked away and snorted. Rusl always attempted to try to turn everything into a lesson at some time or another. Not that it truly bothered Link, but after a while it had gotten very tiring to hear his 'stoic advice.' Then again, Link still had the time fresh in his mind where he had been walking along, minding his own business, when Rusl had ambushed him and whacked him a few times with a Deku stick. Link painfully flinched at that memory, still having some bruises to prove it.

Rusl turned away from Link to look out again at their surroundings, the sun was slowly sinking and birds and other animals called out to each other in non-harmonic calls. Link also looked out to the horizon as well, watching the sun make its slow descent.

"Have I ever told you about those...not as well off as ourselves?"

Link moved his head again, opening an eye at Rusl. "That's incredibly vague, you know, some elaboration would be nice."

Rusl chuckled, looked at his sword for a moment, and gently laid it down. "I mean the ones who cannot have this privilege of gazing at our movements of the sun," he said, coughing a bit in the process.

Link, shrugged; it was a habit of Rusl's to tell stories that usually made no sense to Link himself, so he simply tolerated these anecdotes.

Rusl looked at him now, coughed once more, and continued. "Long ago, before you and I were even laid upon this world, there were great wars that shook Hyrule, and our world, to their very cores. There were three great powerful rulers once, that embodied the aspects of the Golden Power: power, wisdom, and courage, and they had dominion over everything in these lands, by will of the goddesses themselves."

Link yawned, absentmindedly scratched the back of his left hand, something that he did habitually, but could never really explain it.

"Those three sorcerers gathered many different followers int their lifetimes. But the most noteworthy is the one who bore the Triforce of Power. Majora, I think was his name, over time, began to become greedy and wished to obtain the other pieces for himself, and then, eventually, the Sacred Realm itself: the very spot where Farore, Din, and Nayru made our world. He and his followers nearly accomplished that, but the others stepped in. " Rusl said, rubbing a spot on his chin.

"So what happened to him?" Link asked, knowing full well that Rusl would could continue, even if no questions were asked.

Rusl sighed and followed up slowly, "Deeming that Majora had violated one of the ancient laws: an attempt to invade a place deemed most holy...he and his group was banished to the antithesis of everything that surrounds you and I right now; a world of shadows. But they supposedly grow restless and jealous of us, and wish to rejoin us here, or so it's said." Rusl said, getting up stiffly.

Link, took the unsaid command and raised himself, and stretched. "And you believe this rubbish? It's probably just a legend, nothing more than that. You were always were the superstitious type, Rusl."

Rusl, evidently not amused, walked past Link and began down a beaten path. Link frowned, and ran after him, "You know," Link continued, "even if it was true, what could they do? I mean, they're long gone, right?"

After getting no response, Link shut his mouth as they continued their walk down the path. The moon was beginning to rise in the sky, casting long, dark shadows over the ground as the two mens' feet plodded up and down.

"So...how's Uli doing with the baby?" Link mumbled, trying to break the uneasy silence that

had settled into the air rater thickly.

"As well as to be expected, what you were thinking? Something new would happen?" Rusl ventured, raising an eyebrow amusedly.

Link rolled his eyes, "I wonder if this one'll look up to me as much as Colin does?"

A chuckle escaped Rusl's lips as he peered upwards, "Storm's coming."

Link raised his eyes towards the heavens and, sure enough, thick iron gray clouds had gathered over their heads, ready to pour their contents into the thirsty, parched earth. They turned almost automatically onto the thin bridge that stretched far over the ravine that lead back into Ordon's closest settlement.

"...You know, it's rather quite odd how you can seemingly predict how the weather is going to be." Link said, bringing his hands behind his head.

"When you get older, you learn to pay attention to the things around you more, I find."

"And, from listening to you, the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom. I find it just makes you more prone to odd stories and seemingly pointless morals." Link said, smirking.

"Ah, perhaps that's true, but one day, you'll be like that, you know." Rusl grinned at Link, shaking his head.

"How how I'll rue THAT day, to be sure," Link retorted.

The two began to slow down as they reached Link's home. High on a small incline, it had its own sort of charm to it. Not too large, it was well enough off for one person. Link blinked as a fat water droplet hit him in the face as more of them fell from the sky. He turned to Rusl and frowned, "If you want, you could spend the night here. It looks as if it's going to get pretty bad, I'm sure that Uli and Colin would understand."

Rusl waved his hand in Link's direction, snorting at the offer, "A little rain never hurt anyone, I'll be fine."

Link raised and eyebrow and shrugged, "Oh well, your choice then. Not my fault if you get home looking like a drowned rat."

The man besides Link paused and looked across the great expanse of trees that enclosed the house they had approached. He rubbed and his temples and sighed, causing Link to frown.

"Is there...something you're not sharing, Rusl?" Link said confusedly.

"I...yes...maybe," he sighed and a frown marred his features. "It's just...I feel that something is coming Link. And none of us will be able to stop it, whatever that something is."

He yawned and stretched, shaking some of the water that had been falling from the sky from his clothes. "Anyway, goodnight Link. Don't let it get to you too bad, alright? I mean, this week you're taking that sword for us to the castle. Don't want you too uptight about all of this. It may just be nothing at all."

Link simply sat in front of his small hut and watched Rusl's retreating fom gradually disappear into the brush. He shook his head and began to move towards his front door. After fumbling with the doorknob for a bit, he eventually pushed the door open and slipped in.

'_I just really wish that he wouldn't be so vague all the time, it's not helping me at all when he's trying to hint at an idea, but never does it directly!' _Link shook his head and moved towards the ladder, up to the highest loft of his home, where his bed resided.

He slowly sat down onto the soft quilt and stretched out, looking up at the worn ceiling. There probably had been some sort of significance to the story he had been told by the stream, knowing Rusl, such things probably were tied together in some way. But the idea that was being suggested however, was nearly laughable.

_A bunch of disgruntled spirits from an alternate world coming back and settling a centuries' old grudge? _He knew Rusl had always told some tall tales, but that one had to be the biggest. And besides, even if such beings **could** get into Hyrule in some shape or form, what could they possibly do? They 'd been reduced to a place inhabited by shadows, and most likely, would appear as the very things that inhabited there own world here.

Link could not deny however, that some odd things had been happening as of late. A couple days prior, he had overheard some of the adults speaking in whispers as they hauled in the annual harvest. Something about contact being lost with any civilization to Hyrule's west. Odd as that was, that included the Gerudo: a group no one could honestly say they liked or cared for very much. However, what had been interesting was that the Zoras had not been in to trade in the Hyrule Castle Market for a few weeks. This had caused speculation and worry among other people, and so this is when a reconnaissance mission had been declared. Even more destressing was that none of the soldiers who had been sent had come back. No search party would be sent though, even if they could prove they had totally disappeared; Hyrule's economy had hit a rut and such matters were considered trivial at best, in the now.

The very ideology that the government had instilled in its people, that all other nations should be under their absolute control, was beginning to fray. Though not very interested in politics, Link knew that most other countries around them would not aid; they saw Hyrule's problems as insignificant. Cavalita had not wanted to help Hyrule, competing empires and whatnot; Holodrum was currently in the midst of a revolution (lead by some fellow no one knew much about, except his name was 'Onox); Labrynna closed its borders to all Hyrulean citizens and goods. But this did not bother the politicians, it seemed, as life had gone as it would've otherwise 'normally' and they seemed to be enjoying this shunning (well, at least that's how it appeared to everyone else).

Link rolled over and buried his face into the pillow. His head now hurt from all of this thinking. '_That's enough worrying about all of this, like Rusl said, it's all probably nothing in the end; they'll find out what happened to the Zoras and Gerudos, and everything will be back to normal_.' Link yawned, finally managing to drift off to sleep. Not knowing that 'nothing' would mean a lot in the days to come.  
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The disgusting smell of smoke filled the enormous great hall. Well, that was to be expected, after all, hadn't they burned many of the houses on their way? Her hand's grip on her sword tightened considerably at the thought of _whatever_ was on its way to the castle approaching. Perspiration poured down her face and she gave a slight tremble. '_What're you doing? Pull yourself together! And you call yourself their leader? A __**GOOD**__ leader should be showing calmness and resolution! No one wants a leader that's just as scared as his or her people!_

Unfortunately for the rest of Hyrule, Princess Zelda probably was just as terrified as the rest of them. The guards that surrounded the throne were all fidgeting and looking equally as frightened. They were her last line of defense, and not the bravest bunch of the lot. But they'd have to do, she knew, as it was their duty to protect her at all costs. Her stomach churned at that; she couldn't believe they were sticking their necks out for her like this, especially not after the initial invasion.

Thunder boomed along with the roar of flames outside, willing themselves not to be put out. Zelda's forced solemn face turned towards the doors, just as they gave a shudder. The oak that had been carved to create the door groaned in protest as whatever outside pounded on it; she knew, in her heart, that they wouldn't last much longer.

More force (or at least, it seemed) was being applied to the door as it began to be pushed inwards by the mysterious force that was separated by that flimsy barrier. The guards bristled as the repeated pounding got louder and louder, sounding as if it were ready to give way any minute (which, Zelda noted grimly, it probably was). And indeed it was, as the pulse of it increased until finally there was a thunderous explosion as bits and pieces of the aged wood were scattered across the floor.

And in mere moments, an odd sensation was felt. An alien temperature was felt, neither hot nor cold, invaded in the room, forcing its way into every nook and cranny available. The odd 'fog' that was permeating from outside of the castle snaked its way in and began to blanket everything. Zelda blanched at this, but nevertheless did not convey anything facially short of boredom. Gold, orange, and black swirled around her and began to simply _hang_ in the air. Black flecks drifted upwards and out of existence.

A sharp yowl of pain brought Zelda back to the situation at hand, this noise belong to a convulsing guard on the floor. Peering down at him, she noted a large, thin object protruding from his helmet (and, she supposed, his head). 'Very much,' she thought to herself, 'like an...arrow.' Rain poured inwards, taking on an odd distortion from the magic that had sponged the room. Footsteps brought her head upwards, just in time to see what she assumed were soldiers race into the room.

The uniforms on them were all alike, 'alike' meaning with overbearing armor criss-crossed with odd glowing symbols; they did, however, move surprisingly fast and agile, despite the contrasting image their armor provided. Most drew their swords and began to hack into her pitifully small group of guards. They were mauled. Zelda's heart clenched as the last soldier fell. _I've lead..no, just these people, I've lead __**ALL **__of my people to a similar fate._

Zelda bit her lip out of terror as they turned their heads in her direction and began to hiss in a language she'd never heard before, nudging each other and chortling. From her vantage point, she could see a shorter, stockier one come racing in and begin shouting things to the soldiers. They scattered into what she could only assume was some kind of order: they lined up side by side, two rows and extended their swords outwards until they crossed in the air.

Zelda then became aware of another figure, obscured by the soldiers, that was making his or her way through the line of the army. As the being passed, the swords were dropped down to the soldiers' sides, and, she identified, that they brought their hands to their chests and then extended them outwards, in some fashion of a greeting.

The being came into her focus now, its swirling robes flowing lazily behind them. They stopped in front of the throne and looked up at Zelda, who looked defiantly back.

"So," she said, sarcasm lacing her words, "what is it that you wish, o great conqueror? You are entitled to something after all now, I think, as you've won."

The odd mask that covered every inch of the person's face did not move nor speak. Time seemed to stretch onwards as both of them stared at each other. And finally, the creature spoke. "Hold your tongue, wench," the figure snapped, the man's voice cold and void, "you're not in the position to be making jests here."

"Oh? And what do I honestly have to look forward to, except perhaps a dungeon cell?" She asked, eyebrows raised.

The man shook his head ever so slowly, ignoring her question, "You asked me before, what do I want? I'll tell you: this kingdom, Princess. And everything in it. But now you've got a choice to make: will you surrender yourself, and your country, to our forces? Or will we be forced to spill more blood than we already have?"

Zelda began to speak once more, pausing a bit before she began, "I don't think that you'd do that."

He gave a hollow, humor-less laugh, "Oh? And why wouldn't we?"

"Because," she continued, now moving about her throne area, "you wouldn't conquer a place unless you had desired it in the first place. Even if I deny you, your threat carries but an empty promise."

The man twitched, "Good...excellent, just as my superior expected you to be. And that also means that their assumptions were correct. However, Princess, I still await my answer, you've not answered it yet."

Zelda looked quietly down at the sword in her hand, and back at the man. He stood impassively, watching her meticulously as her eyes came back to her sword. And slowly, she loosened the grip on the weapon, letting it fall to the ground.

Behind the metallic mask, the man's face split into a grin. "And so, it would appear that the rule of the Hyrulean monarchy ends here, does it not?"

Zelda inclined her head, defeated towards him, "I suppose it does," she said, "I suppose it does..."

Seven hours previously, the foreign army had invaded the village surrounding the establishment of the political elite. Now, seven hours later, the invaders had already won.

END OF PROLOGUE


End file.
